Shrink film package



Oct. 6, 1970 c. RHELMS SHRINK FILM PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 26, 1969 I/VVE/VTO/P. CHARL E5 ROBERT HEL MS Oct. 6; 1970 (2 R. 'HELMS 3,532,214

- SHRINK FILM PACKAGE Filed Feb. 26, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,532,214 SHRINK FILM PACKAGE Charles Robert Helms, Barto, Pa., assiguor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 26, 1969, Ser. No. 802,498 Int. Cl. B65d /46, 65/16, 85/62 US. Cl. 206-65 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shrink film package especially adapted to enclose and display frangible containers for beverages, the package being characterized by structure in the form of a cut and scored blank of paperboard having portions foldable with respect to each other to form a Hat handle member overlying the crown closures for the containers and having a partition element depending therefrom, the latter separating the containers into a pair of rows and being in contact with the containers, with separating members extending from the partitions and between the containers of a row, said package including an envelope formed from a pliant heat shrinkable film enclosing said containers and said structures, said film being charcaterized by cleaving tightly to the bottles and the fiat handle member to hold the bottles against displacement relative to each other without the use of adhesive of any kind.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of invention This invention relates to a shrink film package particularly adapted for the wrapping and carry ng of a group of bottles arranged in a pair of side by side rows, the bottles being separated by partition elements including a central thin-walled partition depending from a handle member, the entire assembly being enclosed in an envelope formed from a pliant heat shrinkable film, the film being characterized by cleaving tightly to the bottles and the handle portion, but Without the presence of an adhesive material.

The prior art It has been well known to separate beverage containers in a carrier by means of thin-walled partitions having elements extending therefrom between the side by side containers, there being a number of patents to Weiss concerned with structures of this kind. Examples of such structures are disclosed in Weiss Pats. 3,257,027; 3,232,- 517; 3,211,357; 3,194,478; and 3,166,228, amongst others.

It has also been known in the art to enclose metal cans arranged in a pair of side by side rows within a heat shrinkable envelope, and to provide a handle portion for the transport for the so enclosed cans. However, the structures of the prior art have been limited to the enclosing of cans, and have required that the top handle portion be bonded or cemented to the heat shrinkable .envelope.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The structure according to the present invention comprehends the enclosure of a number of glass bottles within a heat shrinkable envelope, and to provide structure for separating bottles, arranged in a pair of side by side rows, such structure being integral with a handle portlon for carrying the bottles, and all being characterized by being enclosed within an envelope of heat shrinkable film which is not adhesively cemented to the handle portion nor to the bottles, to the end that the bottles are held in the envelope against displacement relative to each other.

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DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shrink film package for a plurality of frangible bottles arranged in a pair of side by side rows, said packages being constructed according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cut and scored paperboard blank providing structure to form a handle member and a thin-walled partition separating the bottles seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view showing the cut and scored blank of FIG. 2 folded to position to provide a handle member and a thin-walled partition;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the structure seen in FIG. 3 looking from the left to the right in the direction of the arrows 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a reduced-in-scale cut and scored blank for forming structure to provide a handle member and a thin-walled partition for separating the bottles seen in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the structure for forming the handle member and the thin-walled partition for the bottles seen in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an end view of FIG. 8 looking in the direction of the arrows 99 thereof; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 1010 of FIG. 8 looking in the direction of the arrows.

SPECIFICATION The improved shrink film package according to one embodiment of the invention is denoted by the reference numeral 10, and is especially adapted to enclose and display frangible containers such as bottles B within a heat shrinkable pliant film PF, the film being shrunk about the bottles B as well as structure forming a handle member and a thin-walled partition for transport of the bottles and for separating the same. Bottles B are of the so-called stubby throwaway type. Said structure is formed from a cut and scored blank seen in FIG. 2 and referred to by the reference numeral 10A.

The cut and scored blank 10A comprises a handle member 11 which is connected at a score line 13 to a pair of spaced webs 12. A thin-walled partition 14 is foldably connected at score lines 16 to lower ends of the webs 12, and the latter are adapted to be folded into a position of underlying relationship with respect to the handle member 11 as seen in FIG. 5. The spaced webs 12 are glued to the underside of the handle member 11, and the length of each web 12 is equal to one-half the width of the handle member 11, so that when the parts are arranged as seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, the thin-walled partition 14 depends from the handle member 11 midway of the width thereof.

The spaced webs 12 flank an opening 17 defined by cut lines 18 as seen in FIG. 2, which are continuous with arcuate segments 25 spaced from each other in the manner shown to define a central tongue 19 impinging against the lower side of the handle member 11 and against a lower side of a central web 21 in the handle member 11.

The central web 21 is flanked by a pair of fold-down finger tabs 22 foldable along parallel score lines 23 against the central tongue 19 as seen in FIG. 3, the fold-down finger tabs 22 swinging to position against tongue 19 in a segmental opening 24 as seen in said figure.

The thin-walled partition 14 is integral with a spider panel 26 which is also coextensive with partition 14 by upper spider arms 27. Lower spider arms 30 extend from spider panel 26, and the ends thereof lie along the same vertical line as upper spider arms 27. The thin-walled partition 14, the spider panel 26 and the spider arms 27 are fixed in position and are adapted to extend between the bottles B separating the same into a pair of rows, and contact the bottles of each row substantially along vertical lines which would normally be the line of tangency contact of the bottles but for the presence of partition 14, panel 26 and arms 27.

Structure is provided in the form of a plurality of separating fingers extending laterally from the thin-walled partition 14 and the central spider 26 and between the bottles in each row. Such fingers extend to a position to separate the bottles along what would be their line of tangency contact but for the provision of such laterally extending fingers.

One such set of upper laterally extending fingers is referred to by the reference numeral 28 and each such finger is defined by cut lines 31 and 32 in the thin-walled partition 14, the extension 28 being foldable with respect thereto along score lines 33. A lower pair of such fingers is referred to by the reference numeral 29, and is defined by cut lines 36 and the lower edge of the thin-walled partition 14, the fingers 29 being foldable with respect to partition 14 along score lines 37.

Fingers 28 and 29 are foldable out of the plane of the partition 14 along the score lines 33 and 37 and the fingers 28 and 29 are additionally capable of being bent slightly along respective score lines 34 and 34A to accommodate the bottles B as seen in FIG. 4.

A second set of such separating fingers are each referred to by the reference numeral 38 and are defined by cut lines 38A and 383 in the spider portion 26, the extensions 38 being foldable with respect to portion 26 along score lines 39. In order to accommodate the bottles B as seen in FIG. 4, the lateral extensions 38 are foldable along a score line 40 to provide upper and lower distal portions 41 and 42.

It may be noted that the distal portions of the fingers 28 and 29 and distal portions of fingers 38 extend to the lines of tangency of the bottles B of the row but for the presence of the fingers.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the handle member 11 has quarter circular cutouts at the corners thereof and semicircular cutouts 20 at the midpoint of the long dimension thereof, such cutout portions 20 providing side bearing for the crown caps of the bottles B.

The envelope PF of pliant heat shrinkable film material is placed as a sheet thereof above the handle member 11 and the crown caps CC and around the sides of the bottles B, the opposite ends of such sheet being heat sealed at the edges thereof at the bottoms of the bottles B. After such heat sealing of the edges of the film PF, it is shrunk tightly about the bottles B and the handle member 11. Any suitable film material having the property of shrinking in a heated ambient is suitable for such purposes, and a number of such film materials are well known in the art so need not be described in detail. It may be noted that the film material is possessed of such properties that it cleaves tightly to the surfaces of the bottles B and the exposed surface of the handle member 11 without the need of an adhesive of any kind. The resiliency of the shrink film PF and its properties of cleaving tightly to the bottles B without the need of such adhesive material, including the property of maintaining the bottles B against displacement relative to each other constitutes an important feature of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown another embodiment of the invention referred to by the reference numeral 50 where the bottles to be packaged are of the necked variety rather than the stubby type referred to with reference to FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the structure for forming the handle member for transport of packaged bottles NB and the thin-Walled partition depending from the handle and having the extension for separating of the bottles is formed from a cut and scored blank referred to by the reference numeral 50A.

Said blank comprises a flat handle member 51 adapted to surmount crown caps CC of the bottles NB, and a pair of spaced web members 52 foldable with respect to the handle member 51 along score lines 53 and glued to the underside of the handle portion 51 as seen in FIG. 9. A thin-walled partition 54 is foldable with respect to the webs 52 along score lines 56 and depends from the handle member 51 as seen in FIG. 9 midway of the width of handle member 51.

The web members 52 are spaced from each other by an opening 57 defined by cut edges 58 and arcuate segments flanking a central tongue 59 which abuts a central web 61 in the handle portion 51 at the lower side thereof.

Fold-down finger tabs 62 in handle member 51 are foldable with respect thereto along score lines 63, the fold-down finger tabs 62 moving in segmental opening 64 to each side of the central tongue 59 as seen in FIG. 8.

A central spider panel 66 depending from the thinwalled partition 54 and integral therewith is adapted to have fingers extending therefrom between the bottles NB and to contact the same along their normal lines of tangency contact but for the presence of the bottles. Thin-walled partition 64 and spider panel 66 are also adapted to extend between the rows of the bottles NB contacting the same and protecting them against breakage. One such set of fingers includes spacing fingers 68 folded out of the plane of partition wall 54 along a score line 69 spacing fingers 68 have upper and lower distal portions 71 in the ends thereof. Other upper and lower spacing fingers 72 are foldable along score lines 78 out of the plane of the spider 66 in an opposite direction from the spacing fingers 68, these fingers having scores 77 therein whereby the distal portions thereof can adjust their position according to the positioning of the bottles NB.

It should be noted that lower fixed arms 67 and the lower ends 79 of the partition 54 are in alignment with each other and are adapted to be disposed at the lines of tangency of the endmost bottles as seen in FIG. 6.

The handle member 51 is provided with semi-circular plane protuberances at the ends and at the midpoints of the long dimensions thereof so as to overlie the crown caps CC of each bottle. The assembly thus far described has the film PF wrapped and sealed along the bottom thereby by any suitable heat sealing device whereupon the wrapped bottles are placed in an ambient of a temperature where the film PF is shrunk about the bottles NB and handle portion 51 so as to form a package where the bot tles NB cannot displace relative to each other. Also, by reason of the placement of the separating fingers between the bottles of a row and the placing of a partition between the side by side rows of bottles, a cushion is provided between to prevent breakage.

The film PF placed about the bottles in the manner described cleaves tightly to the bottles NB and to the handle portion 51 without the need of a separate adhesive material.

By reason of the structure described with reference to both embodiments of the invention the advertising material forming a part of each bottle can be adequately displayed without any additional cost.

I claim:

1. A shrink film package for a group of frangible containers such as cylindrical glass bottles arranged in side by side rows, said package comprising:

(a) structure in the form of a cut and scored blank of paperboard having portions foldable with respect to each other to form:

(i) a handle member extending in a horizontal plane substantially atop the so arranged containers;

(ii) a web portion hinged to said handle member and foldable against the underside thereof and 6 having a width equal to one-half the width of thereto to hold said containers against displacement said member; relative to each other within said envelope and (iii) a thin walled partition hingedly depending against said partition and fingers.

from said web portion and separating said containers into a pair of rows and contacting the 5 References Clted containers of each row substantially along a UNITED STATES PATENTS line which would normally be the line of tana 3,111,221 11/1963 Chapman et aL gency contact of said containers but for the 3,263,893 8/1966 Weiss Presence P Partitiom, 3,386,570 6/1968 Lock 220 115 (iv) a plurality of separat ng fingers extendmg 10 3,432,029 3/1969 Brown laterally from said partition between the conm s in e c WILLIAM T. DIXSON, 111., Primary Examiner (b) an envelope of pliant heat shrinkable film ma- Us Cl XR terial surrounding said group of containers and said handle member and characterized by cleaving tightly 15 206-45.33; 220-115; 229-52 

